Violaine Briat on the storyboard in Paris and Los Angeles

Violaine Briat's story began in Dreux, France. She moved to Redlands, California as a teenager, returned to graduate from Gobelins and has since worked as a short story artist in France, Japan and the United States. Violaine first encountered Storyboard Pro - version 1.2 - while boarding at Zagtoon. His IMDB credits include series work for Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and Warner Brothers and is currently working with Sony Pictures Animation. In her spare time, Violaine publishes comics and drawings on her blog.

We were curious about Violaine's vision of American animation, the lessons she learned from working in different markets, and her hope for the future of our industry. Below you can find our dialogue with Violaine Briat.

Example panel of the storyboard provided by Violaine Briat.

What led you to be an artist in history and what do you like most about the profession?

When I graduated from the Gobelins in 2011, the first job I got was a storyboard artist concert at the ZagToon on the show Ko-Bushi. I didn't really have a strong sense of what storyboarding on TV entailed then, so working on this show made me realize how much creative freedom and drawing design were involved in this profession!

When I went into animation, I was worried that I would have to smooth the splines for the CGI characters, so I was just excited that I could actually draw! Storyboarding is also the closest thing to animation you can do to make comics, which was my original dream as a kid.

What led you to move from Paris to Los Angeles?

I worked in the French television animation industry from 2011 to 2016, during which time I worked for over 10 different TV programs and projects. I actually spent a year freelancing in Japan on a working holiday visa (2014 to 2015) which helped me build my portfolio and my online presence. Thanks to that effort, I was noticed by the Loud House crew and passed the test for the show! I started working with them as a freelancer in 2014 and after a couple of years they managed to get me an O1 visa to take the plunge.

#ThundercatsRoar Panthro Plagiriazed was storyboarded by me and @kpax4snax + directed by @jpolgar1 ! It was the funniest I've ever had to plan and get on a crazy sequence. Here are some of my cards to the final comparison. The first 6 seconds are @jpolgar1 then it's me! pic.twitter.com/a85EYPD1rM

- violaine briat (@violainebriat) 15 March 2020

How is storyboarding different in the French and American animation industries? Was there anything that surprised you?

Surprisingly, the storyboard for French shows versus the storyboard for The Loud House it was very similar! The main difference was the time allotted for an episode: The Loud House it would give us the equivalent of 6 weeks to complete an 11 minute episode, while a French show would allow 3 or 4 weeks for the same job.

However, when I started working on Craig of the Creek - the first storyboard show I ever worked on, I started noticing a lot of differences in the pipeline - first of all, there are revisionists! I had never worked in a show with revisionists before. Loud House now has a few, but there really wasn't any when we started.

There are also more managerial positions in America that simply don't exist in the French pipeline, mainly due to budget restrictions. Overall, I would say that the French animation industry works with skeleton crews as opposed to American crews, so every different position in a French show ends up doing the job of 2 or 3 people in an American show. For this reason, the mode of communication in France is also much more direct and we don't have the time to hold big meetings or even organize our storyboard because time is very tight.

The first time I was asked to speak, I hadn't spoken English in a while and I was really freaking out! It's scary because you really have to perform in front of an audience. Now I love pitching. It's one of my favorite parts of the process, because you have the instant satisfaction of seeing an audience react to your work. Overall, I really like how the shows are organized here. It's really nice to have more time and more input, to be able to think more about storyboards and polish them.

What are some of the biggest misconceptions or misunderstandings you've heard of the storyboard?

It's really hard for people to know the exact amount of work you need to do in a storyboard, because the work has changed a lot over the years. Sometimes you can get by with just one panel of a scene, and sometimes you have to basically freeze all animation keyframes.

Communication is key and navigating between shows will always have a board artist adjusting for a period of a couple of weeks because expectations for boards differ so much from one production to another.

What features of Storyboard Pro would you like to be aware of more artists in history, and why?

I think one of my favorite features that Storyboard Pro recently offered was the Paste Special Layer option, which allows for simple corrections to backgrounds or stills in a long scene. It saved me many hours of work! I think a little used feature is definitely Spread Layer Motion, which can allow for very simple corrections, such as resizing or moving an object across multiple panels. The same goes for the Generate Auto-Matte function… I remember the difficult days when we didn't have it.

Comparison cards to the final! (there is a glitch in my tabs @ 0:04) from me, directed by @jpolgar1 ! #ThundercatsRoar for @cartoonnetwork ! ✨✨⛈️🐈 pic.twitter.com/PmbHBvokzg

- violaine briat (@violainebriat) 18 February 2020

How would you like to see the sector grow or change?

I would love to see more cartoon shows! The pendulum always swings one way or another, and right now I'm seeing a trend of nice realistic animation. I grew up watching WB Looney Tunes and the original Cartoon Network cartoons - like The Powerpuff Girls e Dexter's Lab - so slaps and exaggerated animations will always have a special place in my heart.

Whenever I create a tone for animation, I always ask myself, "Why do I choose this story to be animated rather than filmed in live action?"

Do you have any tips for students who are interested in working in animation?

Yup! Don't skip classic training: by this I mean drawing and drawing from observation. The more you can draw from life, the better you will become and the easier it will be for you to draw for animation. The great thing about tapping into life is that you can do it anytime, anytime, and it's free!

Also try to network respectfully, sincerely and sincerely with people online. Don't ask people for a job, but I think it's fair to ask your portfolio for criticism.

Was there anything else you wanted to tell our readers?

Yup! I am really excited to say that I am working on a project for Sony Pictures Animation for the first time. Until now I had only known about the TV pipeline, so it was fun to discover new uncharted territory for me. I can't wait to show everyone what we're working on.

Are you curious to see other works by Violaine Briat? You can follow his art and designs chirping, Instagram and Tumblr.